>>>>
>>>>TIA.
>>>
>>>
>>>Dmitry,
>>>
>>>If the method of the class is not marked as static, you have to instantiate the class prior to calling the method
>>>

>>>var obj = new MyClassName();
>>>obj.MethodName();
>>>

>>>
>>>If the method of the class has been marked as static, you can call it without instantiating the class
>>>
>>>

>>>
>>>// class definition
>>>public class MyClassName
>>>{
>>>
>>>public static MethodName()
>>>{
>>>}
>>>}
>>>
>>>
>>>// then call like this
>>>MyClassName.MethodName()
>>>

>>
>>Thank you, Gregory. This explains what I was missing. It looks like having methods marked as static makes it easier to use them. Is there much downside to it, as far as you know?
>
>Static methods can only use static methods and static fields - unless an object is passed as a parameter
>
>
>It depends .
>
>In a Person's class, a BirthDate would be an instance property - since it's different for each person
>
>The method to calculate the age would not be static, since it will access the BirthDate of the instance
>
>Sample
>

>public class Person
>  public DateTime BirthDate;
>
>  public int CalcAge()
>  {
>     // use BirthDate, ie this.BirthDate
>  }
>}
>

Thank you for the explanation.